In the arid lands of the Alpilles, a section of the Via Aurelia and its Roman milepost bear witness to two millennia of history: one of the oldest empire routes still legible in Provence.
Between the limestone hills of the Alpilles and the olive groves of Maussane, a fragment of the Via Aurelia stands out in the Provencal landscape like a thread stretching from Rome. This stretch of ancient road, with its milepost in place, is one of the few physical reminders in Bouches-du-Rhône of the immense road network that structured the Roman Empire for centuries. What makes this site truly unique is the coexistence of two complementary elements: the road itself, where you can still see the bedding and stonework characteristic of Roman construction, and the milestone column, an engraved stone marker that lined the Empire's major arteries to inform travellers of the distances in miles from Rome or the provincial capital. There are very few sites in France where these two components of an ancient communication system can still be found in situ. The visitor experience combines archaeology and the landscape of Provence. Walking on the same stones that carried legions, merchants and imperial messengers is an invitation to historical vertigo. The milliary column, whose stubby shaft emerges partially from the garrigue, is as striking for its sobriety as for its longevity: nearly twenty centuries of Mistral winds have had no effect on its testimony. The setting adds to the emotion: the Alpilles, classified as a regional nature park, offers a backdrop of white ridges and pine forests that has hardly changed since ancient times. Nearby are the communes of Paradou, where the site extends, and Les Baux-de-Provence, another major centre of the region's heritage. The site attracts both Roman archaeology enthusiasts and walkers in search of an authentic, silent Provence.
The Roman road preserved at Maussane-les-Alpilles displays the classic technical characteristics of imperial road construction. The roadway, known as the via glarea strata, was built on several superimposed layers: a hedgehog of rough stones forming the foundation (statumen), a block of lime-bonded pebbles (rudus), a bed of compacted sand and gravel (nucleus), and finally the surface covering of carefully fitted slabs of local limestone (summa crusta). A consular road of this size was generally between four and six metres wide, allowing two vehicles to travel at the same time. The second remarkable feature of the site is the milliary column. It is a cylinder of hard limestone, with a shaft that bulges slightly downwards in accordance with the canons of ancient carving, resting on a quadrangular base that is partially buried. The visible height is around one to one and a half metres, with a diameter of forty to fifty centimetres - typical dimensions for Gallo-Roman milestones. The surface of the shaft once bore an engraved inscription in Roman capitals, now partially erased by erosion, giving the distance in Roman numerals and the imperial name. Alpilles limestone, a high-quality local material, was preferred to sandstone because of its ability to withstand the region's harsh climate.
